Coeur d’Alene ID— August 31, 2015 — Presidential candidate Ben Carson edged Donald Trump in a grassroots straw poll at the North Idaho Fair conducted by the Idaho Federation of Reagan Republicans from August 26 to August 30. The free straw poll, which gave voters an opportunity to choose their top three choices for President, saw Carson the Republican first choice of 28.8% of the over 500 voters polled, with Trump a close second with 27.5%. Senator Ted Cruz was third with 16%, with all other candidates garnering less than 7% each. Gov. Mike Huckebee was fourth with 6.8% and Sen. Marco Rubio fifth with 6.4%. Despite a campaign swing through Spokane and Coeur d’Alene the same week, with supporter, Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador, Senator Rand Paul placed sixth with 4.7%.

The straw poll was the second conducted by the Reagan Republicans, the first in August of 2011 prior to the 2012 primary season. Although the majority of voters polled at the regional fair were from northern Idaho, the poll included participants from across the Inland Northwest including Washington and Montana. The results also included online voters through the organization’s website www.reaganrepublicans.net.

Greater Presidential candidate attention on the region is expected because Idaho abandoned the Presidential caucus in favor of a Republican Presidential primary on March 8, 2016, moving it earlier in the primary season. The Inland Northwest is considered one of the most Republican and conservative regions in the country. Kootenai County, home of the North Idaho Fair, is one of the reddest counties in America with Republicans winning every competitive federal, state, county and legislative race in the county since 2008 and with only one Democratic candidate winning competitive races in the past decade.

The Reagan Republican straw poll was also unique among grassroots polls in not only polling voters’ top choice by allowing those polled to choose their second and third choices, demonstrating the depth of various candidate's support and staying power as candidates drop out during the primary season. The aggregate vote totals show the same top three candidates with Carson leading with 23.8% and Trump second but with only 16.1%, demonstrating far fewer second and third choice votes. Cruz was a close third with 14.3% with Carly Fiorina jumping to fourth place with 8.6%.

The Reagan Republicans is an independent Republican grassroots organization formed in 2009 to involve conservative and Tea Party activists in Republican politics. The Idaho Federation of Reagan Republicans and the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans club endorse candidates, actively work on candidate and issue campaigns and conduct issue oriented education and advocacy programs.